Snow Leopard Day

Happy Snow Leopard Day!

Snow leopards are native to the mountain ranges of central and southern Asia. During the summer, they'll move to areas above the tree line, and they like broken, rocky terrain.

Snow leopards are solitary critters by nature. They like to be alone. They are often most active at dawn until early morning and then afternoons until early evenings. They prefer resting in places that give shade and high vantage points. I'm guessing because they like to keep cool as well as an eye on what's around them.

Snow leopards are carnivorous, liking the Himalayan blue sheep, the Himalayan tahr, and wild goats. They are active hunters, their preferred tactic is to leap down on prey from above, using that momentum to help give chase. Farmers can encounter them, but attacks on humans are actually extremely rare.

Snow leopards can live around 15-18 years out in the wild. Their mating season is late winter, and mating pairs tend to stick together as they have short mating seasons. Female snow leopards give birth of litters of typically two to three cubs, but it is possible for bigger litters to happen.

Snow leopards are considered a vulnerable species, the biggest threats to them and their habitats being global warming, human farming, and poaching/trade of its skin. Various countries in the animal's range have been working together to protect the species, including India and Kyrgyzstan. 

So, yeah. Snow leopards are pretty cool creatures. I hope you learned something neat about them here. Thanks for reading this blog entry! See you next time!